Palm Beach County We May Have a Problem with Our State Attorney – Top 3 Takeaways – September 20th, 2024
- What’s The Deal w/Dave Aronberg? Yes, he is on his way out the door as Palm Beach County’s state attorney, exiting office at the end of this year after 12 years on the job. No, I'd not expect Dave to be the type of person not to finish the job. Yes, Dave Aronberg is an outspoken Democrat. No, not until this week, did I consider whether his personal political beliefs may cloud his prosecutorial judgement. I still don’t want to believe that for multiple reasons. 1) Because on a personal note I like Dave. 2) Because I’ve always viewed him as a solid prosecutor who’s been above the fray when it comes to getting the job done and doing the right thing. But having said that, there are two very concerning matters that have come up this week involving the judgement of Dave Aronberg/his office involving cases of those seeking to kill Donald Trump. As I mentioned earlier in the week involving the Trump assassination attempt by Ryan Routh... Palm Beach County’s State Attorney Dave Aronberg said this: I’m here because our prosecutors are currently working up warrants and a motion of pretrial detention for the suspect. At that point, Aronberg made it clear that his office was immediately helpful in the effort to keep the suspect behind bars pending further investigations into the attempted assassination. But by Monday morning he said: We won’t have anything to do with this. It’s all feds. His rational for washing his hands of the case was that that the federal government was leading an investigation into the assassination attempt and that he didn’t want to engage in any “turf wars”. But as I pointed out that was B.S. as state and federal investigations taking place involving the same case is commonplace. Also, of concern to me, was a comment in his response to me when we sought comment from him on this matter. “The Governor can authorize an FDLE investigation and the Office of Statewide Prosecution is empowered to prosecute the matter when they have jurisdiction. I won’t be speculating on the outcome of the state investigation. If a law enforcement agency provides my office with a request to file charges, we will review it like every other matter.” That rubbed me the wrong way. If the state of Florida finds the need to pursue charges against a man who attempted the assassination of the former president, and leading current presidential candidate who may be President-Elect in 46 days, that doesn’t immediately become a top priority? You’ll simply review it like every other case that may arrive on your desk that day? What exactly does that say? But again – that's that Ryan Routh matter.
- So, enter into the conversation what we learned played out on Tuesday, the same day that Dave washed his hands of the Ryan Routh case. A Jupiter man, Michael Wiseman, who didn’t show up at a location where Donald Trump was with a gun seeking to kill the former and perhaps future president, but that did use social media to encourage others like Ryan Routh to do it, got essentially a free pass from Aronberg’s office. Michael Wiseman posted: “Trump and Vance should be murdered before turning us in to West Russia”. “No time like the present. READY, AIM, FIRE. Rinse and Repeat”. For that he was charged with a second-degree felony which was punishable by up to 15 years in jail. But instead, Dave Aronberg’s office cut a deal to allow him to enter a diversion program. Under the diversion program, Wiseman will be eligible to have his record expunged if he complies with the terms set out in the program over the next 18 months – enabling him the same rights as everyone else...including to have the right to purchase and possess a firearm. Under Florida law diversion programs are options for state attorneys for 3rd degree felonies with exceptions. There is precedent for 2nd degree felonies cases involving a defendant with a “serious mental illness” as determined by a mental health professional being granted access to a diversion. Wiseman is undergoing mental health treatment as part of this program.
- Let’s put this week’s pieces together. First, Aronberg washes his hands of the Routh case punting to the feds and having the state pick up the investigation he was unwilling to undertake. Then, not only does his office not attempt to hold someone threatening the life of Donald Trump and his running mate accountable to the fullest extent of the law, as a means of drawing a line in the sand following the second assassination attempt of Donald Trump in as many months, but his office takes the extraordinary step of downgrading the second degree felony offense to a lesser charge to allow him access to the diversion program? What is the message that’s being sent here? And let me ask you. Let’s say for a moment that you were the state attorney for Palm Beach County. And let’s say that you wanted to see Donald Trump assassinated. Would you do anything differently than what the state attorney’s office has done involving two related cases this week? And don’t get me wrong. My implication isn’t at all that I think Dave Aronberg wants to see Donald Trump harmed. I don’t. However, both the inactions and actions taken in the two cases this week are as weak as it gets in sending a message to those who do seek to do him harm. This is completely unacceptable. And notably, Alexcia Cox, Dave Aronberg’s Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney, who’s running to replace him supports this and has advocated publicly this week for this telling the Sun Sentinel: (the deal) Ensures that Mr. Wiseman will be monitored while addressing the issues that led to his arrest. What does that tell you? Meanwhile, Sam Stern had this to say: Just two days after the second attempted assassination of President Trump, the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office has given a pass to a man who threatened to kill President Trump. Which one of these candidates sounds best suited to prosecute cases in the county that’s home to Donald Trump?